Running to Stand Still

I used to live in the red rock country of southern Utah. I used to live in the golden Book Cliffs of eastern Utah. I used to live in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The desert flows through my veins. I drove through desert a couple of weeks ago, and it reminded me just how much I miss it. So I wrote this poem.

Running to Stand Still
by Tacy Gibbons

I’ve spent my whole life running to stand still.
Muscles aching, out of breath,
I search, hunger, yearn.
Seek where to sink my roots.

I plant myself in the desert,
dry, parched, red earth,
and raise my arms like Joshua trees in supplication.

I find peace
even in the driest of lands.

God whispers on the winds
of weathering and erosion,
brings me to my feet and tells me
I can stand still even while running.

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